Private Princess (Private 14)

Knight knew he could take no chances. For the sake of all three lives, he had to act swiftly and decisively.

“Help me!” Mayoor called, catching sight of Knight in the doorway. “Please!”

Eliza turned to see where Sophie’s boyfriend’s panicked eyes were looking. Her own barely registered the look of remorse on Knight’s face as he threw the punch and knocked Eliza Lightwood into unconsciousness.

Chapter 40

JACK MORGAN LOOKED out of the helicopter’s windows and over the gray landscape of a rain-sodden east London, his destination clearly marked by the second helicopter that was landed on a school’s football field. It was Princess Caroline’s helicopter, and Morgan had come alone to tell her that Sophie Edwards was dead.

The chopper’s skids touched down on the grass, and Morgan thanked the pilot before handing him his next orders—to head back to Wales and bring Cook to London as soon as Private’s legal representatives arrived to deal with the fallout of the case. With that, he opened the door and stepped onto the field’s wet grass.

A man was waiting to meet him. The face was familiar but the clothes were not—Colonel Marcus De Villiers was wearing civilian clothing, a green Barbour jacket over corduroy trousers. Even out of uniform, the man stood out as a military officer.

The Englishman put out his hand to greet him. “Morgan, I’ve spoken to PC Lewis. She said that you saved her life.”

“She saved mine,” Morgan replied, accepting the handshake.

“Regardless, you have my thanks. Lewis is a good woman, and fiercely loyal. She’s one of my favorites on the protection teams,” the Colonel admitted, and for the first time, Morgan saw a second side to De Villiers. One which was, perhaps, just as fiercely loyal to his team as Lewis was to her superiors.

“I’ll be putting her forward for an award,” De Villiers told Morgan as they walked across the sports field and toward the school. “Because of the reasons why she was in that situation in the first place, it will never pass, but at least she’ll know that I recognize her bravery.”

The pair paced in silence for a few seconds before De Villiers addressed the reason behind Morgan’s arrival. “She’s going to be upset about Sophie.” There was no trace of sadness in his words.

Morgan pulled up, and the Guards officer stopped and turned to him. “What is it?” De Villiers asked.

“Did the Princess hire Private to find Sophie, or bury a secret?”

“I’m not sure which particular secret of Sophie’s you’re talking about. She had many—”

“I’m not talking about Sophie’s secrets. I’m talking about the Princess’s secret, Colonel. The secret that she and Sophie Edwards were lovers.”

Chapter 41

DE VILLIERS SAID nothing.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t know,” Morgan insisted.

“I did,” the Colonel admitted. “Her security personnel and staff give their loyalty to her first and foremost, and they kept it from me, but certain things you can’t hide. When they were together? Well, you’d have to be a bloody fool not to see it.”

For a moment, Morgan thought about the attraction between himself and Jane Cook. The Englishman was right—some things could not be hidden.

At least, not while those people were alive.

“Someone killed Sophie to hide this secret and prevent a scandal,” Morgan declared.

“Impossible!”

“Quite possible, Colonel. Not only is Sophie dead, but three of us only just escaped joining her that way in the forest. Someone didn’t want us to find her. To avoid secrets finding the light.”

“Are you suggesting the Princess had Sophie killed?” The Colonel shook his head. “If the Princess murdered Sophie to hide the secret of their relationship, then why would she hire you to find her?”

“I don’t believe for one second that the Princess would harm Sophie. I think that whoever wants this secret buried works for the royal family. They knew where we’d be, and they wanted us stopped.”

It took the Colonel a moment to form his reply, which came out in a forced tone that barely concealed his anger. “I will not stand for accusations like this being thrown at my people, Morgan. We keep very close control over our firearms and their use.

“Send your experts to our facilities, and I’ll give them full access to our armory and records so that you can run ballistic tests against them and the ones recovered from your hotel and Range Rover. You can have that and anything else you need to put this wild theory to bed.

“Well? Is that good enough for you? Morgan?”